1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to removable devices for protecting vehicles and other objects from damage resulting from unwanted contact, and more specifically to a flexible, magnetically attachable guard having an integrated bistable spring strip capable of coiling said guard for quick and easy storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many vehicles currently sold are not equipped with adequate protection from unwanted contact from other vehicles and objects such as often occurs in parking lots, resulting in dings and other damage to the vehicle's finish (See FIG. 1). To the extent that vehicles are equipped with guards permanently attached to the side panels of the vehicle, the guards may be positioned at a height that does not properly protect the vehicle from damage caused by certain objects. For example, a runaway shopping cart is likely to collide with a parked vehicle at a point above that of most factory installed guards. Moreover, many vehicle owners find permanently attached guards to be unsightly and thus, many vehicle manufacturers have discontinued installing such guards in new production vehicles.
Removable guards for vehicles are well known in the prior art. Removable vehicle guards disclosed in the prior art allow vehicle owners to attach a guard to a vehicle, often magnetically, at a position of their choosing. When not needed, the vehicle owner may remove the guard and store it for later use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,697 to McGlone et al. (“McGlone”), teaches the use of a molded plastic or rubber tubing having an adhesively applied flexible magnet for removably attaching the tubing to a vehicle. One drawback of the design taught by McGlone is that the guard is difficult to store in the vehicle when not in use. The rigid structure of the guard takes up valuable trunk or seating space when stored in the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,407 to Villaveces et al. (“Villaveces”) teaches a guard design that improves upon the guard design taught by McGlone. Villaveces discloses a removable guard that is flexible, and therefore capable of being rolled up by the user for storage in the vehicle when not in use. However, one drawback of the guard design taught by Villaveces is that it requires a great deal of effort and time to roll up a guard that may be multiple feet in length. Many vehicle owners do not find it desirable to spend a great deal of time in rolling up a guard for storage, but rather, want to quickly store the guard. Further, vehicle owners suffering from physical disabilities may find it exceedingly difficult to roll up such guards. Therefore, a need exists for a removable vehicle guard that is capable of being quickly and easily transformed into a compact form for storage.